Galatians 1:6-12
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:6-10 (NIV)
Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia written about 49 AD leaves little doubt that our salvation is by God’s grace through faith in Christ Jesus. During that time some Jewish teachers were insisting that non-Jewish believers must obey Jewish law and tradition to be saved. These Jewish teachers known as Judaizers insisted that Gentile believers must follow the law of Moses (with an emphasis on circumcision) in addition to having faith in Christ.
This conflicting message by the Judaizers was creating confusion and problems for the early church. Paul states that he cannot believe that some were leaving the gospel they originally had learned and turning to a different way of being saved. He makes it clear that anyone or any angel that preaches another way of salvation is to be under God’s curse!! Paul would even later challenge the Apostle Peter on this subject, when Paul felt Peter had supported in some way the Judaizer’s position about salvation.
After reading these verses and doing some research online, it reminds me a little of my time coaching football and teaching the fundamentals of the game. We had a coaching axiom, which I’m sure you have all heard of before – the KISS principle. Keep it simple stupid! Now that I have returned to coaching freshman football, it seems even more important than before as I attempt to teach our players the proper way to tackle.
Just as my freshman players are just learning how to properly play the game of football, so were the Gentile believers in Galatia learning how to be Christians. Paul tells the Galatians that the proper fundamentals of being a Christian is accepting God’s grace and through faith in our Lord Jesus and nothing else! There is NOTHING we can do to earn our salvation and no religious tradition to follow (legalism) that makes us free from our sin. KISS! Thanks be to God!
Questions for Reflection:
- Have you ever felt that you needed to do certain religious traditions to be a good Christian? Why?
- Are we trying to win the approval of human beings or of God?
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I praise you for your great love, grace, and mercy you freely give us. Help us to truly understand that our salvation is from your grace and faith in your son Jesus and nothing else. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
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